


These are the days of Bub's life...

by steviewho



Series: Bub Tales [1]
Category: Labyrinth (1986)
Genre: F/M, Fluffy, Sillyness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-05
Updated: 2014-08-06
Packaged: 2018-02-11 20:09:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2081526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/steviewho/pseuds/steviewho
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There is an unwritten rule that when one throws a party, there will always be that one guest who over stays his welcome, and no amount of polite hinting will make them understand it's time to go home. In most cases said party-goer will leave at some point, and certainly doesn't make himself comfortable and stay for years. As they said there is an exception to every rule, and Sarah William's exception was called Bub.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Roomates

**Author's Note:**

> This started as two different ideas that came about at the same time. The first one came when I was listening to me when I was listening to "Heroes" by David Bowie. Specifically this version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYjBQKIOb-w I fell in love with the way he sings 'I will be king, and you would be my queen'  
> the second was a dream I had about an older Sarah coming home and talking with a little goblin that was basically living with her. The title is intentionally silly and you will understand it better at the end. I own nothing recognizable, no copy right infringement intended. It's all for fun and entertainment
> 
>  
> 
> * Aug 4th, I intended to post this complete, but my computer crashed as I was typing the last line of the the last chapter on here and it wasn't saved. Chapter 3 will be up probably tomorrow. I'm not one to like leaving people hanging and try to not post things not complete. Sorry everyone!!

       There is an unwritten rule that when one throws a party, there will always be that one guest who over stays his welcome, and no amount of polite hinting will make them understand it's time to go home. In most cases said party-goer will leave at some point, and certainly doesn't make himself comfortable and stay for years. As they said there is an exception to every rule, and Sarah Williams' exception was called Bub.

       Truthfully she was not sure what his real name was, but she figured asking after 5 years of cohabitation it would be rude to ask. Bub was a rather small goblin, no bigger than a teddy bear, he had large brown eyes and even bigger ears. His left ear had a chunk taken out of it, almost like it had been gnawed off. He had wild white hair that stuck up everywhere and rounded belly that stuck out of his too small shirt. Sarah found him the morning after her victory party curled up at the back of her closet fast asleep. She took him by the shoulder and shook to try to wake him up. He grumbled and curled into a tighter ball. She shook him a little harder and watched as he took his sweet time actually waking. He stretched and scratched his tummy finally sitting up and looking up at Sarah. She couldn't help but laugh at the goofy little guy. He was like one of those dog's that were so ugly they were cute. 

"Time to go home bub, party's over!" She told him poking him in the chest. He looked up squinting his eyes, "Nah! Too hungry to travel." he groused.  _Okay. He is clearly not a morning per-uh-goblin_ she thought. Sarah rolled her eyes and told him "Alright fine, I'll feed you this one time, but then it's off with you!" she couldn't keep her serious expression for long when he gave her such a funny crooked smile. She went to stand but stopped to ask "What's your name anyway?" he only lifted on shoulder in a shrug and replied, "Bub." and smiled again at her.

        She wouldn't be able to explain needing two bowls of eggs to Karen and her father, so she dished up an extra helping into hers and slipped another fork into her pocket. Back in her room she and "Bub", that's the only name he'd give her, shared their eggs and talked. He told her all about the Underground, his friends, and family. He told her about his job at the palace shining the kings boots. She was amazed how normal everything sounded, even the King himself. Nothing at all like she experienced the night before. Ignoring the fact that all the subjects weren't human but odd creatures, everything sounded exactly out of a history book of the medieval times. She was reminded herself a lesson she learned the hard way that not everything was what it seemed in the Labyrinth. This made Sarah doubt what she thought she knew of Bub's king. She wanted to try to get him talking about Jareth more, but wasn't sure how to open that gate. He was very talkative, so maybe if she could bring him up then Bub would spill what he knew.  _  
_

"Bub? What about your king? Do you like being ruled? Wouldn't the goblins prefer to have a democracy?" she asked, and immediately regretted after looking at his face. Bub was staring at her with his head tilted, one eye squinted and mouth agape in confusion. _Right, must be to complex of an idea for him. Maybe I didn't need the games to get him to talk about Jareth...  
_ "Bub, king good or king bad?" she simplified. She saw the understand cross his face and smiled again "Oh yes! King good! Kingy very good! Kingy protect us from bad men who want slave. Kingy fair and take good care of goblins and wished-aways." he leaned in to whisper "Bub think kingy really like the babes. He sing and dance with them, make babes happy." Sarah laughed at the picture of the imposing figure she battled singing and dancing to make a baby laugh. "But doesn't he turn them into goblins after their families lose the Labyrinth?" she thought aloud more to herself then Bub. "Nope!" he said happily "Kingy says to many goblins already. Gives babes to families who want them. Not many try to win babes back, most happy babes gone." He finished the last thought with a nod and jumped down off the bed. "Thanks for the food Lady, Bub tired, gonna sleep." Sarah was shocked at what the little goblin just told her, and didn't bother to protest when instead of the mirror he went back to her closet.

                                            --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

       Two weeks passed and Bub was still in her room. The only other person who could see Bub was Tobey, but her parents just chalked his laughing and babbling to nothing as him being a silly baby. Bub was a nice little goblin, he was easier to live with once Sarah got him house broken. That had been easy enough to accomplish since Bub decided he never wanted to Lady as mad as she was after she had throw out her favorite shoes. Sarah thought of it like having a little mischievous puppy who slobbered on things, chewed on them and sometimes hid shiny stuff all over the house. Some days it was harder to deal with than others, and today was one of the hard days. She already had a rough day at school and came home to a mess of what she hoped were feathers from her pillow not an actual bird in her room. She sat down at her vanity trying to figure out a way to get the goblin to go home, nothing she said or did worked. She tried hinting, than asking, and even telling. Bub would always just laugh and walk away. She reached into her drawer to get her brush and pulled out what she decided to call a hairball. "UUUCCKKK!!! DAMN IT BUB!!" she yelled, thinking how she was lucky no one was home to hear her. She got up and crossed the room "GOBLIN KING! I NEED TO TALK TO YOUR FEATHERY BUTT RIGHT NOW!" Bub jumped from his spot on the bed and hid behind it. He appeared in a puff of smoke and glitter on her vanity stool. He was a picture of nonchalance lounging backwards with his elbows propped on the table and his legs stretched out in front of him.

"Really there is no need to shout, and if you've realized your mistake and expect to take me up on my offer, I'm afraid you're too late. I wont be making that mistake again." he looked down and plucked an invisible piece of lint from his shirt trying to mask his pain with indifference. When he was met with silence he finally looked up and saw her staring, confusion plainly written on her face

"Wha-your offer? Don't tease me right now, I'm in no mood. That was a trick to try to get me to give--- anyway I called you cause I need you to deal with Bub!" she tossed the "hairball" to him. He sneered at it, the same sneer he gave Hoggle when he noticed the bracelet Sarah had given him. "Who the devil is Bub and why would I need to deal with him?" he sat the "hairball" down on her vanity, and wiped his hand on her stool. She only pointed towards the bed where he some some wild hair peeking out from behind it. He crossed the room in two long strides and crouched down facing away from her and facing the little goblin. "You named it Bub?" he asked over his shoulder, the sneer still on his handsome face. _His handsome face? Where did that thought come from_? she thought to herself. "No! I called him bub once and he named himself Bub. He's been here since the opart-the night I ran the Labyrinth and refuses to leave! I think he imprinted on me like a baby duck!" she omitted the party, she didn't think it would be nice to rub the victory party in his face. He raised one eyebrow at her and turned to speak to Bub, who at least had the decency to look ashamed. She couldn't exactly make out what was being said, she thought bits of  it was probably in a different language. She heard Jareth chuckle and say "Yes the lady is very pretty but that is no reason to invade her home. What are you up to little one?" Sarah blushed at the compliment and was a little amazed at the tenderness he was showing Bub.  Bub said some things and made some wild gestures and Jareth responded with "Well yes those are the Fae rules, but you and her are not Fae so they don't really apply to you..." he nodded as the little goblin interrupted him. Eventually he stood and turned to Sarah, with a very amused smirk on his face.

"Sarah, are you familiar with Fae legends and rules?" he asked, she nodded, " Well your little friend is as well, and he says you fed him, danced in a circle with him and sang to him. He thinks he belongs to you." he watched her warily waiting for realization to dawn on her for what he just said. 

"I No! I didn't sing and dance to him, just with him and others. I fed him cause the little turd said he wouldn't travel on an empty stomach" she stopped her eyes widened "...but wait you gave me a peach and we danced and you sang..." she sat down on the bed feeling defeated. She would have to go back, she'd probably never get to see Toby again.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to force you into anything, I prefer my women willing, not hostages." he said quickly pushing down the disappointment at her reaction to the idea of being with him.

She looked up at him with a defiant tilt of chin, pretending to be more confident than she actually was and said "That's good. So any way can't you just make him go back with you?"

Jareth responded with a shake of his head, "Sorry, I cannot take what is not freely given," she opened her mouth to protest and he stopped her with a raised hand "Don't even, you wished away your brother I didn't steal him. I cannot interfere with Bubs free will." she nodded in agreement, still a little shocked at the man she's dealing with and his difference from the man two weeks ago. She really couldn't argue with his logic. If she made him force Bub home, then she'd being making it okay for him to force her back underground. 

" I'm sorry my dear," both cringed at the term of endearment, him at not meaning to say it and her not wanting to admit how it made her feel. ", but it seems you have a new roommate. Don't worry though goblins are fickle. I'll come back in a week and see if he's changed his mind." He disappeared in another puff of smoke before she could protest. 

 

That's how it went for 5 years, every friday night Jareth would appear ask Bub to come home, Bub would politely decline and they'd try again in a week. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	2. 3 years later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A peek in how Sarah and her roommate Bub live their life, 3 years after the Labyrinth.

          Sarah and Bub got use to living with each other. They developed a comfortable relationship with one-another. She even got use to the weekly visits from the king, they got along better than she ever thought possible. It took some time for her to realize what really happened in the Labyrinth and even appreciate the changes it made in her. She was careful with words now, and closer to her stepmother. She realized she was in fact being a spoiled brat, and her relationships with everyone changed. She saw her mother less as a glamourous hero and more of the selfish woman who abandoned her family. She learned to respect her father and Karen, and did not mind babysitting Toby anymore. She adored her baby brother. After she came to all these conclusions, she saw Jareth in a different light and they became friends. He was actually quite funny, in a dry sarcastic way. He loved trying to get a rise out of her, but she could also see he was not as heartless as she thought. She began to look forward to his visits. She enjoyed spending time with her friend. At least she thought they were only friends, tell one friday he was 2 hours late for his visit and she started to worry. In the midsts of yelling at him for being so rude it hit her, her worry and anger stemmed from feelings much deeper than friendship. She apologised and made up an excuse to why she was so upset and ran upstairs. There was only a couple weeks of awkwardness, and he made a point to never be late again.

           When Sarah turned 18 and moved away to college, Bub followed with her. He was excited the day her college roommate moved out. A month of all of her stuff going missing all the time and Sarah talking to herself was more than she could take. News traveled fast and Sarah was not able to get another roommate so it was just her and Bub. Bub was finally able to have friends come visit as long as they all cleaned up after themselves. Sarah enjoyed having the space alone as well, she could have her Labyrinth friends come and go as she pleased, and didn't have to try to explain away any misdeeds done by the mischievous little buggers.

         Jareth and Sarah's friendship recovered from her explosion 2 years before once she convinced herself that nothing would ever come of it. She _knew_ he couldn't return her feelings. Even if he ever had any for her, which she highly doubted, she ruined that chance when she was 15 by rejecting him. She was also positive that when he had offered her himself it was strictly a ploy to try to distract her. What on earth, above or below, would he want with a regular plain mortal girl? He was a king! A magical king at that! He was hundreds of years old, and probably had more beautiful lovers than she could count. Lovers who were also magical, and unique and she was sure she could never compare to any of them. No she was just regular old Sarah. His buddy. Someone he could tease and joke with, not someone you marry and make a Queen. That never stopped him from joking with her about it. He would always make comments about taking her back with him, jokes that always sounded more like threats. Who she was also didn't stop the goblins that came visiting from calling her Queenie. She _knew_ it was joke at her expense but she laughed along with them not wanting show her disappointment that it would never come true. It was another thing she got use to though, like the slobber and chicken feathers everywhere. She didn't particularly care for it, but it became part of her life. Even Jareth called her Queenie. 

        The day the "Queenie incident", as Sarah referred to it, she came in the door from a late study group session to find a group of goblins wearing some of her clothes and in the middle of a huge mess of books. It looked as if they took every single book off her shelf and threw them everywhere. Jareth popped in, right exactly on time by the way, to find her barking orders at a group of rather guilty looking goblins. To his amazement they were actually cleaning up and alphabetizing her rather expansive book collection. "What are they doing?" he asked, still a little shocked at the orderly fashion they were behaving in. Sarah looked with her brow furrowed in frustration, "What do you mean? They are cleaning up the mess they made of my books and closet." he stared at her for a few seconds before asking "You mean you can actually get them to repair damage they cause? Why don't you ungrateful little monsters ever do that at home?" he addressed the entire room. Sarah shrugged "They always clean up for me, do you actually think I'd let them come visit here for three years and not force them fix their messes?" he only laughed "Watch out woman, I may take you back to the Underground and make you my Queen, then maybe I could live in something that actually would resemble a castle!" he laughed loudly at his joke, as did the goblins. He took her silence at the joke to mean she was still angry with the goblins. Bub pulled on her pant leg "Lady be Queenie?" he asked hopefully, she didn't have a chance to answer before all the goblins started shouting and whistling in excitement. Some were shouting in agreement, she should be the Queen. "Quite!" Jareth yelled sensing her uncomfortableness, for he  _knew_ the idea of being with him was something she would never actually want. He did see a chance to ruffle her feathers though, " I think all your shouting is giving Queenie a headache. Finish up here and head back to the castle." he ordered. Jareth looked at Bub, "Bub are you coming back with us?" the little goblin held on to Sarah's ankle and shook his head no, "Not without Queenie!" Jareth laughed and disappeared, his laugh was still ringing in the room even though he was physically not in the room.  


	3. Like Tom and Alice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This particular friday visit happens to fall on 5 years to the day Sarah ran the Labyrinth, and 4 years 364 days since she and Bub became roommates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took longer to get this up then I thought. I've been sick and did not feel up to retyping it yesterday. I hope you enjoyed yourselves, and thank you for indulging me in my silliness! 
> 
> For those of you who aren't familiar with Soaps, the one Bub is referring to is Days of our Lives, Tom and Alice were on the soap since the beginning and were on it tell they both died. There's no disputing they are *the* couple on the show, so instead of starting shipping wars I picked them for Bub's example.

       Sarah loved her life, she loved her little apartment, she loved her job at the bookstore, she loved her roommate Bub, she loved J--her friday nights, and she even loved the little goblins that over run her life. It was friday, and she was in a hurry from work to get home a little bit early. It was a special day, well Sarah thought it was special she wasn’t sure how other people involved felt about it, but to her it was special. It had been 5 years since her night in the Labyrinth. A night that not only shaped who she was, but also gave her this life she loved. She grabbed her bag and waved to the girls at the counter and left the store

 

     “My, she’s in a rush tonight.” the red head cashier commented “What do you think she does? You know she has every friday night off, but she never hangs out with anyone.” her blond counterpart said. “You mean you haven’t heard? Oh God! Jules said she has a secret boyfriend! A few weeks ago Sarah forgot her textbooks here and Jules took them to her house and when she opened the door Jules could see this tall guy lounging on the couch. She even heard him call her Queenie when Sarah shut the door!” the red head exclaimed, excited to have someone to share the gossip with again.

 ****Sarah opened the door to a suspiciously empty, yet extremely messy apartment. She checked her watch and found she still had sometime before Jareth came to see Bub, so she decided to get to cleaning. Not use to the silence she reached over and flipped the radio on and loud. It was nice to have the place to herself for a bit, it allowed her to sing, dance and act silly. The love songs were starting to make her feel a little sad. It was not easy suffering unrequited love, a leopard can’t change his spots and Sarah can’t stop being a little over dramatic. She wasn’t really lonely, but did she long to be held and loved. Her current situation would not allow her the ability to date really, not with work, and working on her degree or with all the random house guests. Not that she really wanted to date anyway, but some days she thought it would be nice to have someone other than her make believe relationship with the king. Suddenly her favorite song “Heroes” came on and pulled her out of her deep thoughts “OOHH!” she exclaimed turning the music up while singing loudly, completely unaware of the invisible audience she had.

    Jareth came a little early, he wanted to spend some time alone with Sarah, after all it was an important anniversary. He ordered all the goblins out of the apartment for a bit, Bub wanted to surprise Queenie with a cake so he was fine with being ousted out of his house. He and the other goblins went back to the castle to bake her one. Jareth poofed in, opened his mouth to say something and promptly closed it when he heard her singing. He stepped into the shadows and made himself invisible, he had never heard her sing before and it stopped his heart. The little siren called out to him and he couldn’t help but listen. He told himself he would let her know he was there after one song, that was three songs ago. He watched as she danced, and saw her face as she seemed to be deep in thought. 5 years had done nothing but strengthen his love for this girl, he was immeasurably grateful that Bub had moved himself in and gave him a chance to be in her life. He took great pride in watching her become the woman she is today. He noticed her excitement at a certain song, clearly a favorite. He was engrossed by the emotions that crossed her open face as she sang the words and wished that maybe there was a secret meaning behind her love of this song. “You, you can be mean…” she sang, yes my dear and so can you he thought and continued watching her. He noticed the look of longing on her face when she sang “Cause we’re lovers, that is a fact” like she was thinking of someone specific, and wished to the gods that it was him she was thinking of. It was at one particular line she sang with her entire heart that he could no longer keep his presence unknown

“IIIIIIIII I WILL BE QUEEN,” she changed the lyrics to suit her, “ And YOOOOUUUU you will  be my king!” she turned at that moment to find the same King she was singing about lounging in her wingback chair, the chair Bub called her throne, with a smirk on his face.

 **  
**“You know Queenie, I keep making that offer and you keep turning me down.” he said chuckling at what he thought was a very witty quip. Sarah was too embarrassed to say anything. She couldn’t really tell if she was more embarrassed over what she got caught singing or the very high falsetto note she tried with “you.

“Don’t Jareth, don’t act like you ever once meant it, we both know it’s only a joke. Even in the Labyrinth you only were using it as a ploy to distract me.” she told him angrily. Sarah tried to calm down, but her emotions were raw from embarrassment and also what today meant to her. She tried to remind herself that he didn’t know about her love of him, so he didn’t know how hurtful his teasing was.

       Jareth was confused, not that she was angry. They were regularly angry with each other, they both had rather bad tempers and he loved it. He loved the fight and challenge she  gave him, he loved every infuriating second he spent with her. He was confused at her words, did she really not know how he felt? He went to respond but she cut him off, “I know you and the goblins  think it’s hilarious the idea of a regular mortal girl being queen, but it’s hurtful when you guys say it. It reminds me all the time that I’m not actually good enough to be royal.” with this she turned her back on him hoping he didn’t see the tears starting, but of course he did. He noticed everything about her. He stood, grabbed her by the wrist and turned her to face him. “Queenie, what are you talking about? Of course I mean it. You aren't some regular girl, you never have been. You are the one and only person to ever beat the Labyrinth. You are the only person the goblins seem to show any respect for, they already think you are their Queen. In fact I keep getting asked when you are coming home... and you are the only woman I have ever loved.” he lifted his hands to cradle her face, and leaned into kiss her. She screwed her eyes shut and froze, she was not 100% positive that this wasn't a dream.

      He noticed she was not responding and mumbled against her lips “Sarah, this tends to be more enjoyable if both parties kiss.” Still nothing from her he leaned back and noticed her eyes closed. Having her face in his hands still, he took his thumbs and rubbed gentle circles on the apples of  her cheeks “Queenie, open your eyes and look at me,” she took a deep shuddering breath then finally complied. Her heart stopped at what she found. His normally cool and disconnected mask was finally down and all she saw was undisguised love and adoration in his eyes. He seemed so honest, his eyes without guile. She started to cry more. He shushed her and kissed her face, starting with her forehead, eyes, nose, cheeks and face trying to stop the tears. “So my love, as your song so plainly yet accurately puts it. I’ll be the king, would you be my Queen?” though the tears hadn’t stopped they flowed for a different reason, and she nodded her head. She was about to  kiss him when the moment was interrupted by Bub’s untimely entrance.

Bub hadn’t heard what was said, but he did see the tears in Queenie’s eyes. He threw down the cake he was holding and rushed to the King. Jareth felt Bub’s little fists pounding away on his shins and knees, he bent down and picked the goblin up by the back of his shirt so they were eye to eye. Jareth squinted his eyes and asked, “Bub what the devil do you think you are doing?” “KING MAKE QUEEN CRY, BUB GONNA MAKE YOU PAY FOR THAT!” he yelled again trying to punch the king in his face. Jareth looked from Bub to Sarah, who was laughing uncontrollably at the site these two made. Bub was swinging around trying to get a punch or a kick anywhere he could, but Jareth had him far enough out to where his little arms and legs couldn’t reach. 

Sarah stopped his tiny fists of fury with one hand and said “It’s ok Bub, these are happy tears.”  
Skeptical the goblin asked “ya?” “Yes.” she confirmed. Jareth cut in, “I was just in the middle of asking her to marry me and come home with us when you interrupted.” he poked Bub in the chest as he said this. Bub looked from his King to Sarah, he crossed his little arms in a huff and said “Finally! Bub wondering when you two morons realize you soul mates!” “Soul mates? Bub what do you know about soul mates?” Jareth asked with his familiar haughty sneer. Sarah answered for Bub, “That may be my fault, a couple years ago I was sick in bed for a few days and may have gotten him hooked on daytime soap operas.” she said a little sheepishly.  
“Yep! You two like Tom and Alice, made for each other. Bub loves show ‘Like sand through the hourglass---” he was interrupted by Sarah putting her hand over his mouth. She leaned in and finally kissed her king. Their kiss was met with cheers and applause from all the inhabitants from the Labyrinth that had shown up for the surprise party. They were finally getting their Queen.

 

 


End file.
